AMMAN, JORDAN— In a changing Arab world, some question if monarchies are still relevant. For Jordanians, long accustomed to the untouchable status of their king, recent price hikes have brought the issue to the forefront.

In recent days, some Jordanians have broken a long-held taboo - chanting attacks on King Abdullah himself.

The protests were sparked by a cut in subsidies, meant to forestall a fiscal crisis and comply with IMF loans. But it has unleashed resentment of what some call an absolute monarchy.

Commitment to reform questioned

Street activists are not the only ones taking on the king. Political analyst Labib Kamhawi questioned the monarch's commitment to reform on Jordanian television, and now faces criminal charges.

"Here the regime has no intention of of accepting people's demand for significant and serious reform because all powers are amassed in the hands of the king himself," said Kamhawi.

For a monarchy with roots in the arbitrary redrawing of the region's map by Western nations a century ago, Jordan has been, up to now, surprisingly stable. Jordanians may complain about the price hikes, but many still profess loyalty to the king.

​King's supporters

Mohamed Hajir, a barber, said the price rise is a burden. But he called on God for continued peace and security, and for the king to remain the ruler.

This loyalty has helped Jordan weather the storms battering other nations in the region, including Syria, whose refugees fill camps along their mutual border.

But some worry that the king and his advisers are squandering their strength for short-term gains.

Parliamentary elections set for January will be a test of an electoral law some see as an attempt to undermine the influential Muslim Brotherhood.

"They adopted this electoral system, which ended up with more polarization in our society, more sub-identities emerged in our society, social violence even," said Oraib al-Rantawi, the director of al-Quds Center for Political Studies.

Some believe leaders also are manipulating fault lines between Jordanians originally from the region and those of Palestinian origin, who make up more than half the population.

"It wants to make sure that the two main components of the society - the East Jordanian and the Palestinians - do not come hand in hand, unified vis-a-vis the regime," said analyst Kamhawi.

Free speech under fire

Kamhawi said a failure to foster unity at this precarious time is compounded by the crackdown on free speech. For young activists in particular, freedom of expression has been a key demand of protesters throughout the region during the past nearly two years of protests.

"Short-sighted" is a description that comes up frequently in Jordanian discussions of the monarchy's approach to calls for peaceful, gradual reforms.

"This is part of the debate in our society, but unfortunately it seems to me that the lessons of the Arab Spring are not learned well even in Amman," said al-Quds Center director al- Rantawi.

Yet, analysts say, Jordanians retain hope, however slight, that their leaders will listen and prove the exception, rather than the rule.

Once built, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge will span 2 kilometers with about 1.5 kilometers over water, and will be longest suspension bridge in world carrying rail system More

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Comments

by: Anonymous from: Jordan

November 20, 2012 1:36 PM

let me say that this lecherous little thieve "kinj" is finished here. and no help from anyone is going to prop him up... the slime has already fled the country... now Jordan is new Palestine.

by: Haliss from: Netherland

November 20, 2012 1:28 PM

Fritz, i have to say, yours is an incredible insight!!! Arab monarchies and dictatorships can not be blamed on the US/Israel... it just can not..!! and Islam with its grotesque deformity is not the solution to the Arab aspirations... the Turks look on them like monkeys... the Iranians look on them like dogs... its only the US/Israel that respect their lives... but Islam teaches them to exploit the Western weakness of conscience... these repulsive pictures where they kiss a dead child... a child they put in harms way... and some have even killed outright for the cameras... truly despicable... but that is Islam...

by: Fritz Hans from: Germany

November 20, 2012 1:07 PM

it seems more and more apparent to those who pay attention to the ugly mutations of the "Arab Spring" that the Arabs are trying to regain some elusive sense of "dignity" - to liberate themselves from the oppressions of benighted absolute monarchies... Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, you know... all the filth that the British malign influence has placed on them... I say, GOOD LUCK... but don't blame the US/Israel for your misfortunes... blame the degeneracy of Britain

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